News

William, 4, is lining up for charity sports fest

First published
in News
by Annabal Bagdi, Reporter covering East Oxford and Cowley. Call me on (01865) 425430

A FOUR-year-old will take on a triathlon to raise money for the hospital ward that saved his life.

William de Croos was rushed to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital with hypoglycemia within hours of his birth, after suffering low blood sugar.

Now energetic William will take part in a mini-triathlon in aid of the JR Special Care Baby Unit.

The Didcot lad will swim 40 metres at The Park Club, Milton, on August 16, then, the next day, cycle one mile at Blenheim Palace and run 800 metres at Oxford’s Iffley Road running track.

He will also raise funds for Forces mental health charity Combat Stress.

His aunt, Heidi Sutton, is currently deployed with the Army at the British base at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.

Father Paul de Croos has been taking William to weekly swimming lessons. William has already completed a practice 800m dash and bike rides near the family home.

William will swim without armbands or floats and will cycle on his little blue bicycle with stabilisers.

He has already raised £300. Milton Hill-based manufacturer Infineum will also donate £25.

He said: “I’m really excited, I’m excited about my run.

“I’m going to have medals, really shiny ones. When I have done all three I’m going to put them around my neck.

“It’s for charity and for all the nurses who helped me when I was a little baby and for the army people who get hurt so that they can get better and they feel better.”

William arrived into the world two weeks earlier than expected at Wallingford Maternity Hospital, weighing 6lbs 14oz in October 2009. Placed in an incubator, mum Rebecca de Croos was unable to cuddle William for days.

Mrs de Croos, 34, also mum to three-year-old Henry, said: “Your natural instinct is that you just want to love them; you just want to cuddle them but you can’t.

“There are babies with all of these tubes and all these machines are bleeping and going off all around. You just have to trust that the doctors and nurses are doing what they have to do.”

William required round-the-clock care before he was discharged, two weeks later.

Mrs de Croos said: “We just wanted to bring our baby back home.

“When we got to the point when we could, it was wonderful. It was the best thing in the world.

“It was just elation and relief that we were able to get home.”

Mrs de Croos said: “No one can tell us why it happened and why it happened to him but a piece of me thinks there was something in my body that didn’t work right and did not give him what he needed when he needed it. I probably let him down a little bit.”